First Presbyterian employees see a higher calling

Margie PetersonSpecial to The Morning Call

First Presbyterian Church of Bethlehem named a Lehigh Valley Top Workplace

The way the Rev. Alf Halvorson sees it, church is a noun and a verb.

Ask Halvorson, pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Bethlehem, about his workplace and he'll tell you about the worship services, the bonds between staff and congregants, what they believe and their mission work in the community.

So the church becomes not just the sanctuary where an average of 1,325 people worship at five services each weekend, but also the actions of the leadership team and congregants who engage the community.

"The old model of 'If you build it, they will come,' the attractional church, does not work anymore," Halvorson said. "So we are working harder and harder to do the missional church, which is Jesus incarnated himself in the world, pitched his tent, became human. And so we're only the church if we are going out to where the people are and earn the right to be heard and serve and care and invest. ... I think that's part of the reason we're healthy and growing."

And growing they are. The church, founded in 1875, has 2,600 members, up about 100 per year since Halvorson started as pastor eight years ago. Because the congregation is so big, the church offers members the chance to join smaller groups that study scripture, do retreats and mission work together, locally and miles from home.

First Presbyterian Church

APRIL BARTHOLOMEW, THE MORNING CALL

The First Presbyterian Church of Bethlehem, founded in 1875, has 2,600 members. Because the congregation is so big, it offers members the chance to join smaller groups that study scripture, do retreats and mission work together, locally and miles from home.

The First Presbyterian Church of Bethlehem, founded in 1875, has 2,600 members. Because the congregation is so big, it offers members the chance to join smaller groups that study scripture, do retreats and mission work together, locally and miles from home. (APRIL BARTHOLOMEW, THE MORNING CALL)

The church employs 46 people, including 18 full time. Of the part-timers, half are preschool teachers who work in the church's preschool.

Belief in their calling is one of the aspects that makes First Presbyterian such a great place to work, according to Halvorson and other staffers. They say they love being able to take their consciences to work where they share common goals with passionate, talented individuals.

Those employee sentiments helped land First Presbyterian Church of Bethlehem on the list of Lehigh Valley Top Workplaces for the third year in a row, up one slot over last year to No. 3 among small companies surveyed.

Beth Case, associate pastor for congregation life and care, said she enjoys learning from her colleagues who challenge themselves and each other.

"We are equipped and allowed to do what we are good at and what we are passionate at," Case said. "And there are other people around us whose strengths are opposite of ours and they get to do what they're good at. And I don't have to be anybody but who I am."

The staff camaraderie was tested when the church was broken into last summer and computers and other items were taken.

"We all showed up on a Tuesday morning and there was glass all over the place," said Jackie Etter, director of human resources. "To see the way this team came together as a family, to take care of each other and support one and other, was astounding.

"When the dust settled and the glass was cleaned up was one of the times when you look back and go 'Wow, I am just really fortunate to be surrounded by these people that care so deeply about each other, about this church and what we've been called to do,' " Etter said.

Employees say they have flexible work schedules so it is easier to make room for family responsibilities.

"We don't punch clocks," said Gwenn Noel, communications director. "This is a very flexible workplace; they're very family friendly."

It's all about walking the walk.

"If we're going to teach people to serve Christ, I think we have to do that in our day-to-day dealings here," Etter said.

That includes helping area agencies such as Habitat for Humanity and the Community Action Committee of the Lehigh Valley in their work in low-income neighborhoods. The congregants and staff recently contributed more than 600 Christmas presents to local people in need.

In fact, the church recently sold a piece of its 42-acre campus to neighboring Kirkland Village and is using 20 percent of the profit to buy and outfit a "relief bus" that can bring food, clothing and medical services to low-income areas in the community.

Members doing mission work have volunteered on relief buses in New York City and Newark, N.J., to prepare them for launching such a project in the Lehigh Valley this year, Halvorson said.

"People are changed by serving," Case said. "And if I can put people on the ground in a serving mode, I love it."

That concern for others manifests itself in smaller ways among the staff. Case describes Cody Sandahl, the associate pastor of executive duties, as the church's "local Geek Squad" for helping colleagues like her with his computer expertise. And every Sunday morning, Grant Berger of the facilities staff makes a pot of coffee for Case and a co-worker. Berger says he does that and other "little things people don't have time for."

While the church can't pay the salaries commensurate with many for-profit companies, it tries to follow salary guidelines set by the National Association of Church Business Administrators on what is fair compensation for a church its size in the region.

"We have a lay committee that makes sure people are paid fairly based on their experience and their category," Halvorson said.

Employees also appreciate that the church council, called the Session, doesn't micro-manage.

"There is way too much to do for any of us to stand over each others' shoulders and micromanage," Halvorson said. "We hire and we try to empower talented and committed people so we don't have to micromanage."